Then, as the family of six left with their arms full of doughnuts and cookies, Louisa turned with an apologetic smile to the last customer. “Good afternoon. I’m so sorry for the wait—”
Then she finally got a good look at the man who’d been behind the throng of tourists. She sucked in her breath. The tongs she’d been holding dropped to the floor with a clang.
&nb
sp; Rafael looked down at her, smiling with his dark eyes.
“Hello, Louisa,” he said. “How are you?”
She stared at him in shock, unable to speak.
It had been almost a year and a half since she’d left him in Istanbul, this selfish, coldhearted man who hadn’t wanted either a wife or a child. He looked at her now with the exact same gray shade of eyes as her baby son, who was now almost eight months old. The baby who was right now sleeping in the tiny office behind the counter. The baby he didn’t know about.
Involuntarily she moved a little to the right, blocking his view of the office door. What was Rafael doing in Florida? Had he somehow found out about Noah?
“What are you doing here?” she choked out.
“You don’t look pleased to see me.” He rubbed the back of his dark hair and glanced up at her with a sheepish half smile. “I guess you’re not the one who sent the letter. I hoped you were.”
“Letter?” She hid her shock by leaning down behind the counter to pick up the tongs from the tile floor. She turned and dropped them into a sinkful of soapy water. Bracing her hands against the sink, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Not exactly a letter,” he clarified. “It was a flyer advertising your bakery. Someone sent it to my office in Paris.”
A chill went through her. She knew just who’d sent it. Damn Katie!
Fear pierced her heart.
Don’t be afraid, she told herself desperately. Why should Rafael Cruz frighten her? She was no longer his employee. No longer his lover. This was her bakery, hers and her sister’s, and if Louisa chose, she would throw him out onto the street!
He had no power over her, she told herself. None whatsoever.
But she knew that was a lie. She thought of her baby in the darkened room behind her. If he knew about Noah…
Could he possibly know?
Sucking in her breath, she turned to face him. Her eyes searched his face.
Then she exhaled. He didn’t know. He couldn’t. If he’d known, he wouldn’t be looking at her with an expression that was so open and friendly and warm. He would have come in here with all guns blazing.
“What do you want, Rafael?” she bit out. She would never call him Mr. Cruz, ever again.
“I’ve missed those caramel brownies of yours,” he said. “I’ll pay for them, of course.”
She heard the echo of his long-ago words. I would make you pay…and pay…and pay. She lifted her chin. “I thought I made it clear that I never wished to see you again.”
“You did,” he admitted. “But when I got that letter, I realized that I wanted to see you.” He smiled at her. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”
The smile he gave her would have melted the heart of any woman.
But not hers. Never again. She glared at him, then turned with an elaborate smile to help a new customer who’d just come in her store. He waited with unusual patience as she served the other customer. After the tinkle of the bell as the customer went back onto the boardwalk with a bagful of doughnuts, Louisa finally turned to him coldly.
“I have nothing to say to you. Please leave.”
“I had to find you, Louisa. To tell you,” he said, “to tell you I’m…sorry.”
She stared at him.
He was sorry.